Abiotic component | EPFL Graph Search

In biology and ecology, abiotic components or abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems. Abiotic factors and the phenomena associated with them underpin biology as a whole. They affect a plethora of species, in all forms of environmental conditions, such as marine or land animals. Humans can make or change abiotic factors in a species' environment. For instance, fertilizers can affect a snail's habitat, or the greenhouse gases which humans utilize can change marine pH levels. Abiotic components include physical conditions and non-living resources that affect living organisms in terms of growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Resources are distinguished as substances or objects in the environment required by one organism and consumed or otherwise made unavailable for use by other organisms. Component degradation of a substance occurs by chemical or physical processes, e.g. hydrolysis. All non-living components of an ecosystem, such as atmospheric conditions and water resources, are called abiotic components. In biology, abiotic factors can include water, light, radiation, temperature, humidity, atmosphere, acidity, salinity, precipitation altitude, minerals, tides, rain, dissolved oxygen nutrients, and soil. The macroscopic climate often influences each of the above. Pressure and sound waves may also be considered in the context of marine or sub-terrestrial environments. Abiotic factors in ocean environments also include aerial exposure, substrate, water clarity, solar energy and tides. Consider the differences in the mechanics of C3, C4, and CAM plants in regulating the influx of carbon dioxide to the Calvin-Benson Cycle in relation to their abiotic stressors. C3 plants have no mechanisms to manage photorespiration, whereas C4 and CAM plants utilize a separate PEP carboxylase enzyme to prevent photorespiration, thus increasing the yield of photosynthetic processes in certain high energy environments.

Travel Time and Source Variation Explain the Molecular Transformation of Dissolved Organic Matter in an Alpine Stream Network

Tom Ian Battin, Hannes Markus Peter, Amber Joy Ulseth

Streams and rivers are important components of the carbon cycle as they transport and transform dissolved organic matter (DOM). Using high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, we studied the spatial distribution of DOM at ...

2020

Species-species interactions modulate copper toxicity under different visible light conditions

Valérie Gagnaux

Combination of biotic and abiotic factors influences the effects of naturally occurring or anthropogenic chemicals on photosynthetic microorganisms in the aquatic environment. Nonetheless, the combined effects of physical stressors and species-species inte ...

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE2019

Chlorinated ethene plume evolution after source thermal remediation: Determination of degradation rates and mechanisms

Christof Holliger, Julien Maillard, Alexandra Marie Murray, Jérémy Zimmermann

The extent, mechanism(s), and rate of chlorinated ethene degradation in a large tetrachloroethene (PCE) plume were investigated in an extensive sampling campaign. Multiple lines of evidence for this degradation were explored, including compound-specific is ...

ELSEVIER2019